New RNA-based active agents reliably protect plants against the Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), the most common virus in agriculture and horticulture. They were developed by researchers at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU).

The active ingredients have a broad spectrum effect; a series of RNA molecules support the plant’s immune system in combating the virus. In laboratory experiments, 80 to 100% of the treated plants survived an infection with a high viral load, as the team reports in Nucleic Acids Research.

Their paper has been selected as a “breakthrough article” by the journal. The researchers are now working on transferring the idea from the laboratory into practice.